Handheld VHF radio

[Michael Rogers]

Could I coax a few of you maritime-electronics experts down from the dizzy heights of esoteric (to me, anyway) navigation aids, to help me with some basic information and answers to what are probably laughably naive questions?

I think I probably need to get a handheld VHF radio - absolutely as basic as possible, for inter-boat communication when sailing with others (raids, rallies etc): and I suppose a potential emergency facility is a good idea as well.

There are huge numbers available on Amazon and eBay, and the price ranges are amazing. In this area I'm a cheapskate so long as it works at a simple level! Some questions -

- I've noticed that 'from USA' usually means cheaper: is this because of channel set-ups? Presumably the ones marked 'EU' are those to go for?
- There's stuff from China/Hongkong/Philippines/Kazakhstan (I jest not, and they are not from the Borat Corporation), which is, surprise-surprise, cheap. Is any of it any good, or all of it to be avoided? Would they do the necessary channels?
- Do the waterproof ones really cope with a dunking? In which case, is this worth paying for? (The  alternative would presumably be a waterproof case, but they aren't cheap.)

Any other information/advice would be MUCH appreciated. Incidentally I've got myself the RYA handbook on VHF Radio, which is a model of clarity.

Thanks, Guys.                 Michael

[david]

Hi Michael,
                  I have the Icom hand held radio. I sail mainly on the ocean, so, for me it is a basic safety requirement.
 It is water proof, which was tested accidentally and worked fine. It even floats and has a red light that flashes when it is wet. (easy to see). If you get a water proof one, a floating one is also desirable. Mine went over in about 25' of water. It may have worked on the bottom, but I would not have been able to get it to find out!
   Some features that I like, it has three channel scanning. So, I can scan the weather, the emergency channel and the hailing channel with out picking it up to change channels. Most useful.
Easy to use with only 9 buttons that are clearly marked. Good reference material came with the radio that helped my learning curve.
One button is dedicated to an emergency hailing frequency. Press it and it gives my location coordinates and opens a hailing channel for the mayday.
Battery life is excellent. It is always on when I am out sailing and the battery lasts 40-50 hours at  a guess. I hardly ever need to recharge it. Once every couple of months is my frequency at the moment. Rechargeable batteries are desirable as they do last better.
I like that it is small and is easy to clip to parts of the boat so it is always handy. Wearing it, on my life jacket, on stormy days in challenging conditions does not bother me due to the small size and weight. (It came with a clip on the back, it also has a teather for around your hand etc).
Overall, I am pleased with the radio and it has performed well under lots of different conditions.
The only question is, would it work in the U.K? I am not sure about that.

David.

[Julian Swindell]

I've got a little Cobra handheld, which cost about £45 I think. It is remarkably powerful. The Poole harbour master has heard me from over two miles away, which I had not expected. At the price, I really like it. It can scan two channels, so I monitor ch16 and the harbour master on ch14 whenever I am sailing. You can just about see it clipped to the front of a shelf in this picture (I don't often photograph my radio for some reason)

[garethrow]

Michael

It all depends on what sort of sailing you want to do and therefore what you want your radio for. As you know - I do most of my sailng as coastal sailing where there aren't large numbers of boats around to witness any distress, I therefore have come to regard my handheld as a valauble piece of safety equipment. If you are buying a lifejacket that might one day save your life - do you want to skimp on quality? Probably not unless you are a very strong swimmer (which I am not!). For me - the same princile applies with radios. I started with a cheaper version - 5 wattt Midland - going for the power output. Trouble was that I often found people could not discern what I was saying - too distorted. Whilst this may well be down to my poor technique - I did find it frustrating and eventually decided to upgrade (at considerable expense £200) to a digital handheld model - 6watt - Horizon. Sounds very similar to the Icom described by David. The big advantage of a digital version is the panic button which will transmit a digital distress alarm signal + your gps co-ordinates in the event of the worst happening. I sincerely hope I never have to use it in anger. I now keep the cheap Midland as a spare - but it is playing up and only seems to want to work at all on Ch16 - which of course is better than nothing.

Bear in mind you will need to get a VHF licence to be able to use whatever radio you get.

Last point - like life jackets, radios are only any good if you remember to take them with you and keep them turned on!

Hope this helps

Regards

Gareth

[Peter Cockerton]

Agree entirely with Gareth, not an item to skimp on, Standard Horizon HX851E is the one in went for, the following features make it for me.
DSC capability, emergency button transmits co-ordinates which in an open boat with no easy access to charts may well be a life saver.
GPS built in so it's another bit of kit to give you your position in a hurry, store waypoints and routes.
Scans all channels you select with option to return to ch16 after each channel.
Built in rechargeable battery, it also takes standard alkaline batteries from a spare battery case if the built in batteries are flat.
Waterproof
It Floats
Auto strobe starts if it's immersed in water.


About £180.00 discounted price.

See this site for more details :

http://www.allgadgets.co.uk/marine/pc/Standard-Horizon-HX851E-Handheld-VHF-with-GPS-DSC-37p349.htm?gclid=CJOw48Ctgb0CFWT4wgod9SIAoQ

Peter Cockerton

[Andy Dingle]

Michael.

Please note that a VHF short range licence is required to operate a VHF radio ..  even a hand held one, you can get away with it if you are operating it under the 'supervision' of a licence holder, or a licence holder is on board - but that may be problematic if you are the only person on board!
Unfortunately the only way to get the licence is attending a one day course which will cost you.. most yacht clubs etc run these courses. (I've heard that it may be possible to do this on line, but I don't have any details or confirmation of this myself?)
A ship portable radio licence is also required, allocated by OFCOM.

If you do go down the DSC route - which I personally would recommend - Just pressing the 'distress' button on the set will transmit your position and boat details to the coastguard.
The set must be registered with OFCOM (done free of charge on't t'interweb) who will allocate you with a call sign and an MMSI number (similar to a unique telephone number, if you like, that you can use to call an individual set). A DSC set is useless without this information, as it won't be registered with the coastguard and hence their computers won't be able to identify you.

Be wary of buying 'foreign' products from abroad as the preset frequencies may not be the same as UK ones. Dual watch is extremely useful too (most now have this as standard).
Buy one with the highest transmission power (usually 1w/5w - but some go higher) and keep it on the higher power setting. Don't forget we are sitting right on the water in our boats and VHF works on a line of sight principle, being so low down the signal does not carry that far.

A lot of useful stuff on

http://www.seavoice-training.co.uk/page/80/Faqs.htm or the RYA will advise.

Hope this is useful. I do recommend you get one.

Regards

Andy

[Tony]

Hi, Michael.
A couple of points.
I believe  the RYA VHF course has been changed recently making it more rigorous. It has included DSC for a number of years, and, like Andy, I think that a Handheld with DSC is the way to go - now there are a few different sets to choose from.
Considering the sort of boats we sail, the set needs to be waterproof, dual watch, must float, have a method of use that doesn't require obscure menu systems or scrolling  and must have buttons large enough to be used while wearing gloves. It must, as far as I'm concerned, also be designed to wear on my life jacket, along with my safety knife, spare reading glasses, and whistle (I suppose I should have a flare in my pocket, too!) These items are not much use in a capsize or MOB situation if they are kept in a "handy" locker!

[Michael Rogers]

Thanks, everyone! What it is to have friendly experts to hand. I think I have all the info I need now, to make some informed decisions.

As from this Feb, it looks as though the RYA course itself can be done on line (what that would be like I don't know), with a trip to an RYA centre to do the exam. Actually the training course 'problem' solves itself
because I am half way through the RYA Day Skipper Theory course, and our tutor will be laying on the radio course at our collective request once we've finished.

The twenty first century is in relentless pursuit of this laggard, and I've given up trying to get away.

Michael

[Michael Rogers]

Tony, I forgot to suggest this morning that you seem to have forgotten a toothbrush holder on/in this otherwise comprehensively equipped life-jacket of yours.

Michael

[Tony]

No worries, Michael.
I thought I might be over-doing it myself at one point.
A confirmed backpacker in my youth, I am accustomed to the concept of paring down the weight I carry to the absolute minimum. (I even used to squeeze a ration of toothpaste into the corner of a freezer bag to save weight.)
 Applying these principles to sailing small boats came naturally to me.
After considerable thought, I came to the conclusion that I could save myself a lot of money and sail without the encumbrance of all this safety gear. All I really needed was a small waterproof pouch containing the name and address of my next of kin and the phone number of the local undertaker.
However, my next of kin were less than enthusiastic. She suggested removing all identifying marks from my clothing and adding a couple of diver's lead weights to my pockets...."to save us all the trouble and expense of a funeral." 
Well, a simple "Lost at sea." in the local paper was good enough for Grandaddy, why not for me?

[Matthew P]

Ten years ago I bought an Icom MC33 which at the time was new generation, water proof, floating and easy to use.  Maybe at 10 years old it doesn't owe me anything but it recently refused to re-charge because the battery terminals have corroded away.  It seems I'm not alone with this problem: 

https://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=65737

Faced with £50 for a new battery or but a complete hand set replacement with up to date bells and whistles and after a happy evening reading various reviews I've opted for a Standard Horizon HX40E with a funky orange flotation case as an accessory. Total cost £117 delivered from:

https://www.prscomms.co.uk/webshop/handheld-radios/1675-standard-horizon-hx40e.html?search_query=x40&results=2. 

So far so good.  It is half the size of the Icom MC33 with all the same features plus FM radio receiver that's remarkably clear.  Has anyone experience of using one?  I'll report how it performs in practice at the end of the year, if anyone is interested.

The HX40E lacks a DSC for single-button automated emergency calls but hand sets with this are twice the cost and twice the size, which means I'm less likely to carry it on me.  Unless I've misunderstood the range, even with DSC is line-of-sight or about 6 miles from the boat and much less if you are in the water, which is not enough for quieter places. I have witnessed a serious situation on Loch Ness when a hand held VHF had insufficient range to get help.

For serious cruising I have DSC on a 25W fixed set and, with an aerial at the mast head. With this I expect about 25 mile+ range - if all the electrics and battery are working, I'm in the boat and, as other BR20 sailors have pointed out, it's upright (!).  So I carry a Fastfind PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) that uses GPS satellites for international range, is self contained and several season long battery life (but needs testing regularly).  And I can carry use it on land for skiing or walking (marine VHF sets are not supposed to be used on land).

I intend and very much hope never to have reason to test the PLB or DSC for real...

Matthew
BR20 Gladys

[Graham W]

A couple of years ago at Sail Caledonia, the Swedish crew of ‘Sommarvind’ had a handheld combination radio that I thought was quite nifty.  In addition to marine VHF, it could also receive radio programmes and operate as a walkie talkie.  It was Chinese (possibly branded Baofeng) and I could find it on eBay at the time but it seems to be no longer available.

The circuitry on quite a few bits of the various types of radio are probably quite similar, so it makes sense to combine them in one unit.  I’m wondering why no-one else has thought of this.

PS I’ve just spotted the Standard Horizon HX210E, which combines marine VHF with FM reception and has been out for about a year.

[TimLM]

I also needed to upgrade an aging ICOM in my case a 25 used in my dinghy days.
As pointed out by Peter the Standard Horizon seems to tick all the boxes except no BBC. It does however have a walkie talkie facility in their latest model the 870 and they supply an SMA to BNC convertor so giving the option to fit a mast head aerial.
This is the combination I've chosen, it only restricts the option of taking it with you if you fall overboard. But if I'm that far offshore I agree with Matthew I should be going down the PLB route.
The 870's have come down to £160 to £180, the mast head aerial however is somewhat more complex. Through mast wire, and then a bracket adds a lot of weight at the top of the mast making it much more difficult to lift. My mast is heavier that normal so I'm in the process of making a bracket out of carbon/glass with a capsizing fitting to reduce the overhang when towing, hmm.

[JOD]

One post refers to the fact that a radio operates on 'line of sight' from aerial to aerial. Plus someone must be keeping a listening  watch on a set whose aerial is in 'eyesight' of your aerial ie no hills in the way. It  is worth stressing that this can be as little as 3 miles if you are holding your radio standing in a boat like a Bayraider. Bear this in mind if intending to rely on a handheld for emergency use. There is now a case to be made that a mobile in a waterproof case provides at least valuable backup if not a better form of seeking help in many situations.

[Sea Simon]

I have "ended up" with the following!

1. 20 year old Icom handheld VHF, now powered by an Icom accessory battery pack, which allows it to use normal AA batteries. The original NiCad failed after about 15 years of intermittent use. The rest of the set is in very good condition. I have loaded this with high capacity/long shelf life lithium "camera batteries" - £15 ish?) and this is my reserve set, which lives on the boat.

2. New ICOM M25 handheld VHF (not my perfect set, but at new for £85 it was too good to miss). No faults, I just would have liked the domestic radio receiver function incorporated too. What I was shocked by, was how the size and weight of the new VHFs has come down as they have progressed with "phone battery" type tech. Duration has increased, charge time decreased .Also now from usb, eliminating a big heavy dedicated charger, in my case.
This set travels with me.

3. Ocean signal "Rescue me" PLB, which also travels with me. Now well under £200. Size of a ciggi packet!

4. mobile phone in pouch (so that it floats, and is "waterproof"). Have never tried operating this on a cold dark stormy night, or indeed while actually in the sea; I wouldn't want to. and then there are the limited coverage/non "DF-able" issues too. New gen digital phones are way worse than the old analogue mobile network in these respects.
Phone must be a backup, NOT primary means to alert.

Range:
I have never sailed the Lochs, nor the isolated W coast of Scotland (although I have worked up there - we had commercial fixed sets, of course).

On the S coast of the UK, hand-held coverage has not been an issue for a long time now. Guess this may in part be due to the high volume of maritime traffic these days?
HMCG have a network of remote aerial sites which they are able to operate from other "Operations Centres"; I think the system may even be nationally networked nowadays?
e.g at Fowey we are covered by Brixham CG's "official patch", but also regularly speak to Falmouth; both are WAY beyond line-of-sight; Brixham is some 60+ mile, even by sea, and there are some very large headlands in between.

I've often thought about a mast head aerial, but never got aroundtoit, for reasons above.

off topic, but similar - My current focus is on whether I should swap to LED "Flares" (now appx £90?) when mine expire next winter? I have some excellent waterproof LED torches; are they good enough?